32 Business DECEMBER 2018
For over 20 years, we’ve been legal advisers to the best
of Manchester’s digital and creative businesses, helping
our clients go from strength to strength.ENTERPRISE
Influencer marketing
helped this fashion
brand go global
Boda Skins is a global fashion brand, founded in Manchester and exporting to clients in
global markets including America, Europe and Australia. Its CEO and founder Nathan
Alexander spoke to Shelina Begum on creating an internationl brand
T
hey’re the must-have
leather jackets that can
be seen on celebrities,
stylists, and
influencers - AND the
designs can be found
right here in
Manchester.
Boda Skins, which was launched
in 2013, is widely known for its high
quality stylish leather jackets, which
are handmade overseas and sold
online and via pop up shops all over
the world including New York, Paris,Sydney, London and LA.
Its edgy designs have also been given
the A-list seal of approval.
Justin Timberlake opted for a Boda
Skins jacket when he went on stage at a
show in Toronto, Canada, while clients
also include Olivia Palermo, Johnny
Depp, Amber Heard.
And it’s not just Hollywood stars who
have gone gaga for the brand.
Reality star Khloe Kardashian
donned a Boda Skin piece on the
family’s hit show, Keeping up with the
Kardashians.
Retailing around £500, CEO and
designer Nathan Alexander said his
jackets were ‘made to last.’
The business, which is based in The
Foundry in Salford, has grown into
a £3.5m turnover company through
international pop up stores and
influencer marketing having built
its brand and reputation through
Instagram.
Boda Skins was developed after
a chance meeting with a Turkish
manufacturer.
After completing a degree in product
design, Alexander decided to move to
Turkey with his then Turkish girlfriend.
While there, he tried his hands at
several different businesses including
selling t-shirts and hoodies on eBay.
“It was hard doing business inTurkey. I had friends who would help
me out but due to the language barrier,
everything was difficult, even going to
the post office to send packages.
“My money was running out fast and
then one day I was at a bar playing pool
when I met a man who owned a leather
factory and it started from there.”
And it was this chance meeting that
led to Alexander to start designing his
own range.
“I’ve always loved leather jackets
ever since my mum brought me one
back from New York when I was seven.
It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen
and because I grew slowly, I wore it
for years and had a huge emotional
attachment to it.
“The sense that a leather jacket was
something you could love for a long
time really stuck with me and inspired
me to start designing.”
A day after the meeting, Alexander
took three bus rides across the
mountains to visit the leather factory.
He then spent two weeks coming up
with his own designs.
He said: “We had hit it off and I
stayed at the factory for two weeks
while we hashed out some new
designs. This factory was a small family
run business, there were only 12 staff
and the love and passion they had was
amazing, but, the styles he had werereally out of date.
“I saw it as my opportunity to design
something that I thought was modern,
edgy and stylish.
“We came up with three designs, but
I had no money to pay him. So I said to
him I’ll fly back to England and sell the
designs to the local shops and we’ll get
lots of orders.”
Alexander kept his promise and
returned to Manchester with three
jackets. But convincing local shops and
boutiques to buy them was difficult.
“I slept on my brother’s sofa and
everyday I would wake up and I’d take
the leather jackets to the boutiques
asking if they would like to buy them
from me.
“I didn’t think it was going to be so
difficult but one after the other I got
rejected and it hit my confidence.
“So I decided to go back to what I
know and sell on eBay.”
Alexander’s sister-in-law - a model -
helped out with a photo shoot and the
images went online on eBay.
He sold his first jacket that week.
“That was the birth of what we see
today,” he said.
As he got busier, Alexander was
joined by current MD, Blue Wilson,
to help with customer service and
marketing as they looked to set up an
online store.